Operations

The Company’s strategy is to build shareholder value through the exploration and development of its existing assets, by seeking to add new high-potential assets and by evaluating potentially value-enhancing corporate transactions.

Operational activity and the subsequenThe Company’s strategy is to build shareholder value through the exploration and development of its existing assets, while seeking potential new opportunities. In pursuit of these aims, the Company’s management utilises its technical and financial expertise and connections to partner with other, likeminded companies in making applications for new exploration acreage.

Business Review

The Netherlands Acquisition substantially increased the size and scale of the HALO’s operations in 2017. The Company’s strategy has continued to focus on lower-risk assets with well understood geology, near-term commercial potential, access to (or ownership of ) infrastructure situated in established hydrocarbon basins and stable fiscal jurisdictions.
The difficulties created by sector-wide conditions from 2015-2017 have seen decreases in drilling and other related costs as well as greatly improving the availability of rigs and other related equipment. In addition to these operational benefits, there are considerable and expanding opportunities for further portfolio growth. In this context, HALO expects to maintain the same cost discipline it has followed to date and pursue only those opportunities which offer sufficient returns within manageable risk.
The Company believes the change in scale which resulted from the Acquisition will allow it to pursue larger, or similar, opportunities in the future as well as providing cash flow to pursue lower-risk organic opportunities. HALO continues to screen suitable opportunities as they arise focusing on those which meet the strategic objectives and are deemed to be value-accretive.

Following the completion of the Netherlands Acquisition, HALO has increased its internal resources, but only very modestly with an incremental increase in general expenditure supporting requisite requirements, with the intention to maintain a cost-conscious and highly effective management capacity within the Company. Given the “non-operated” nature of the interests, HALO intends to continue to assume the day-to-day management of the portfolio from the office in The Hague, benefiting from the local market’s access to highly skilled industry specialists and service companies.
In June 2017, HALO completed the second phase of its planned portfolio restructuring by divesting of a further 25.5% of its subsidiary company Vermeer Exploration B.V., reducing its holding to 49%.t review conducted by the board during 2014 led to a significant transformation of the business, which culminated in the acquisition of Hague and London Oil BV. Renamed Hague and London Oil Plc, the Company emerges from this period stronger, leaner and well positioned for a new stage of growth.